According to Australian government officials, the award-wining HBO series, Game of Thrones, has inspired scores of parents to bestow their newborn babies with a whole host of fantastic characternyms. Topping the list are:
- Khaleesi
- Arya
- Tyrion
- Brandon
- Kylie
According to Jennifer Moss, founder of BabyNames.com and ANS member, the last time a media event had such an impact on baby naming was when the Twilight vampire series hit the theaters.
Maisie Williams who plays Arya Stark in the HBO “Game of Thrones” series
According to the US Social Security Administration (SSA), the folks down under are by no means alone in this onomastic trend. Based on the SSA record, 241 babies born in USA now carry the name of George R. R. Martin’s majestic dragon mother, Khaleesi. In the British Isles, the name of the sword-swinging underage heroine, Princess Arya, has proven similarly popular. Statistics released by the Office for National Statistics indicate that the ever-resilient vengeful Princess was the namesake for some 187 baby girls.
If these names continue to trend as they have been, we may well see a head-to-head race between the Stark Princess and Dragon Queen for the 2016 ANS fictional name of year. Click here to vote early for this election (as well as for the other categories for Names of Year).